Efficacy of a Slow‐Paced Breathwork Training for Primary School Teachers on Stress and Burnout Reduction

A coherence breathing programme reduced perceived stress and burnout, especially emotional exhaustion, among primary school teachers. 74 teachers were assigned to either a breathwork training group or a wait-list control group; the experimental group (n=46) practiced daily coherence breathing before class and with students during class. One month after training, the experimental group showed a notable decrease in stress and burnout compared to controls. Emotional regulation showed only a trend toward improvement, and no significant effect was found on classroom management self-efficacy. The authors propose incorporating coherence breathing into teacher training to support mental health.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Teaching has been ranked as one of the highest among stressful work settings, and chronic stress can lead to burnout. Therefore, specific interventions that can reduce teacher stress and burnout symptoms through improved stress management strategies are needed. Such initiatives are currently proposed through teacher training in the French national education system. This study aimed at assessing the efficacy of a coherence breathing programme on reduced stress and burnout, and improved emotional regulation, and class‐management self‐efficacy among primary school educators. To that end, a breathwork training was proposed to a total of 74 school teachers. They were assigned to either the experimental condition or the wait‐list control condition. The experimental group benefited from a coherence breathing training to incorporate it into their daily routine before class and with their students during class (n = 46). All teachers were asked to complete online questionnaires before and 1 month after the training. The results revealed a notable decrease in perceived stress and burnout in the experimental group compared to the control group, particularly in terms of reduced emotional exhaustion. However, the effect on emotional regulation only showed a trend towards improved emotional regulation in the experimental group, and no significant effect was reported on classroom management self‐efficacy. Overall, these findings underscore the advantages of incorporating coherence breathing into teacher training initiatives to improve teachers' mental health.